Stevens Electric and Pump Service of Monmouth, Maine, has agreed to pay $17,000 in fines assessed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration related to the deaths of two of the company’s workers a month ago. According to a report in the Portland News, the company settled the case after the violations were amended to indicate the company had provided safety equipment to the workers, but had not taken steps to ensure the workers were using the safety equipment.

Winfield Studley, 58, and Richard Kemp, 70, died when they were overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas after entering a septic tank at a hotel in Kennebunkport, Maine. The company was cited for failure to ventilate the area where the men were working, failure to test the air quality before the men went in the tank, and failure to monitor the area’s air quality.

According to media accounts, the sewer pump tank at the Lodge at Turbots Creek had been pumped by another contractor and then the men entered the tank to work on a submersible pump. Neither worker was wearing special breathing equipment when they were discovered, according to reports.

Does your company have a procedure for safety training and follow-up to ensure proper equipment is always used in confined-space situations? This is an issue of paramount importance for pumpers who enter tanks to maintain and repair onsite systems.